Native
by MelodyPond77
Summary: A collection made for the Album Challenge. Each oneshot will be about a song from OneRepublic's album "Native". Currently Rated T for the first fic, but each oneshot will vary in rating.


For** Sydrianfan4ever.** Happy extremely late birthday!

Prompts: First kiss, post Hogwarts, fire, prank gone wrong, proposal, adult life.

**Also used for the Album Challenge: "Something I Need" from OneRepublic**

* * *

Sirius Black wasn't paying attention to what Remus was saying. No, he was doing something much, _much _more worthy of a fifteen year old boy.

He was checking out Marlene McKinnon's ass.

In all aspects, it was a very fine ass. It was round and-

"You're thinking about her ass again, aren't you?" Remus's sarcastic voice cut through his lovely thoughts like a knife.

"So what if I am? It's attractive. I'm a teenage guy." Sirius shrugged, defensive. In retrospect, Marlene's ass wasn't the only thing he liked about her.

"Padfoot, it's so bloody obvious you like her, everyone can see it except for you and her. The sexual tension when the two of you are in the same room is just mental. Go ask her out already!" Remus huffed, thoroughly annoyed with his friend.

"But... how?"

Remus stopped short and stared at Sirius with incredulity. "Did you really just ask _me _to help _you _figure out how to ask out a girl? Merlin, Padfoot, you're farther gone than I thought. We need to bring in the big guns."

Sirius looked confused for a moment before Remus dragged him off.

"Let's go find Prongs."

* * *

"You need help asking a girl out? _You? Sirius Black? _Merlin, Padfoot, are you feeling alright?"

"Oi, piss off, Prongs!" Sirius grumbled as James stuck his hand on the boy's forehead, checking for a temperature. "I just... I feel different about Marlene. She's just not some sexy bird, ya know? I actually... I actually like _her, _not just her body. She's got personality," Sirius mumbled, a blush creeping up his face as his three best friends stared at him in shock. Never had any of them heard the likes of _that _come out of Sirius Black's mouth. He was the biggest player in the school. "'Sides, James, she's my best friend. I've known her my entire life. How do I put all of that at risk? I don't want to end our friendship by making a wrong move. She means too much to me for that."

"Ok, Padfoot. We need to do something to make you look good in her eyes. Also, we need to get your confidence back. How about a nice prank? We can prank Snivellus; I know McKinnon doesn't like him. Then when she finds you hilarious, you can ask her to Hogsmeade or something."

"A'right. I guess that'll work," Sirius slowly started grinning. "Yea, thanks for that Prongs!" His face shifted back to a worrisome stare. "But, when will we pull it off?"

"The time will present itself, my friend. All good things to those who wait," James grinned mischievously, and the four boys laughed, thoroughly light hearted again.

* * *

The opportunity didn't present itself until after the OWLs. Snivellus was walking past where the boys were lounging beneath a tree, his nose stuck in a book, completely oblivious to where he was going. James and Sirius went after him, having a bit of fun and making the crowd laugh. Sirius was watching out of the corner of his eye as Marlene ran up with her best friend Lily Evans.

_Perfect, everything will work out... _

And then it all went wrong.

* * *

"Marlene-"

"Merlin, Black, what the hell happened to you? You were such a sweet little kid. Hyperactive and mischievous as hell, and an utter nuisance to your parents, but you weren't mean. When did you become so arrogant and conceited?!" Marlene was yelling at him. This was _not _supposed to be happening.

"Mar-"

"DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH PAIN YOU HAVE PUT LILY THROUGH? YOU AND POTTER BOTH!" She shrieked, getting right in his face. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO IT?! HE WASN'T DOING ANYTHING TO YOU!"

"I DID IT FOR YOU!" He roared back at her, finally getting angry. James might take it when Lily yelled at him, but Sirius didn't care how in love with this girl he was. He and Marlene had been having shouting matches since they were three years old; he wasn't about to stop because he had gone and fallen _in_ _love _with her.

She stopped dead, staring at him in shock.

"What?"

"Merlin, Mar, the guy's a right git! He doesn't just talk about muggle borns behind their backs, he talks about you, too. He calls you a blood traitor, and talks about how even though you're a pureblood, your blood is just as filthy as the others. He says you're going to be one of the first to go when You-Know-Who takes power. Snape is bad news. He even called Evans a you-know-what!"

"So you were defending my honor or something? Merlin, Siri, that's not the way to do it!" Marlene wasn't angry anymore. She was laughing her bloody socks off. "I don't think you need to worry about me, Siri. I'm safe. Snape is all talk. You-Know-Who wouldn't dare touch my family. We're too pure for that." And she walked off laughing before he could say anything else.

He watched her go, thinking the words he should have been saying to her.

_I did it for you. I did it to impress you. Because if he's right, and Voldemort is going to target you, and you die... I want to die with you. Because I can't live without you. _

* * *

"Padfoot, we're going to graduate in a month, and you still haven't asked McKinnon out." Remus stood behind his friend, meeting his eyes in the mirror as Sirius played with his hair.

"Merlin, Moony, it's not going to work out between us. She obviously just likes being my friend." Moony rolled his eyes, about to say something, when James walked in to the conversation.

"Actually, she does want to be more than friends. Lily told me Marlene's insane for you. But she won't do anything about it cuz she doesn't want to ruin your friendship." He scoffed and flopped onto his bed, watching Sirius perk up in the mirror.

"Really? She likes me? You aren't shitting me, Prongs?" Prongs laughed, shaking his head.

"Go get her, mate. Before it's too late!" Without a second thought, Sirius ran out of the room.

* * *

Sirius ran into the common room, surprising Lily and Mary.

"Evans, have you seen Marlene?" He gasped, looking completely agitated.

"She was taking a walk with Emmie... She's probably out on the grounds somewhere. Why?"

Her question was lost as Sirius raced from the common room

When he reached the grounds, he saw the two girls sitting beneath the beech tree, laughing and throwing bits of leaf at each other. He paused for a moment, reveling in her joy. She was so beautiful when she was happy... Her brown hair was ruffled by the breeze and her hazel eyes twinkled .

Shaking himself from his daze, Sirius gathered his Gryffindor courage and strode briskly up to the group.

"Marlene? Can I talk to you?" The two girls looked up, and Emmeline, noticing Sirius' serious face, got up quickly.

"I've got a potions essay I need to finish! I'll leave you guys to talk," she muttered, quickly heading back to the castle.

Marlene looked at him oddly, then motioned next to her. "Sit down. I'm too lazy to get up," she said carelessly.

Sirius sank to the ground beside her. It made him nervous being so close to her-he was within slapping distance if she got mad and all he could think about was how good she smelled, and how much he just wanted to lean over and kiss her and run his hands through that long, chestnut hair-

"You wanted to say something, Siri?"

He coughed, wrenching his mind away from those thoughts. "Yea, uh, so James mentioned something Lily said to him to me..."

She turned bright red and shifted away. "She-she said something to you? I wish she hadn't."

He sat in surprise. "Why not?"

"Because, now you're just going to go on about how it's not going to work between us and now it's going to be awkward being friends because you know I like you and I know it but you don't like me back!" She cried, turning her back on him.

"Well, I'm sad you feel that way, because I personally am so glad James told me. Because it gave me the courage to do something I should've done a long time ago." His voice was gentle, and something in it told her she should turn around right now and face him.

"Wh-what was that?" She sniffed, trying to keep the tears that were threatening to spill over inside.

He brushed away a single tear that had escaped with his finger, letting his hand cup her face gently.

"This," he said softly, leaning in and kissing her. She kissed him back ardently, and at last he really _was _running his hands through her chestnut locks and she was pressed against him and it was everything he had been dreaming about since fifth year, and he couldn't help but smile against her lips.

She pulled back after a moment, her hazel eyes meeting his blue ones. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and she smiled hugely up at him, her eyes twinkling with happiness.

"You wouldn't believe how long I've wanted to do this," he whispered to her, leaning in to kiss her some more

* * *

Marlene sat beside him in the Hogshead, clasping his hand tightly. Sirius slowly ran his thumb in circles on it, trying to help relieve some of the nervousness they both felt.

It was their first Order of the Phoenix meeting, and they had just arrived. Aberforth had directed them grumpily to a back room where the meeting was to take place.

The two looked up as James and Lily entered the room, stamping off snow. They too had been asked to join at the end of seventh year by Dumbledore.

"Marly!" Lily cried, pulling her best friend into a hug. Sirius clapped James on the back and grinned at him.

"How's life treating you, mate? Enjoying living with your girlfriend?" He winked. James had recently moved out of the flat he had shared with Sirius, instead moving in with Lily. They _said _it was for safety precautions, because James knew she was a target, but everyone knew the real reason.

But Sirius was fine with it, because that left him all alone in a flat, and no one could bother him and his beautiful girlfriend. He still saw James at the Auror office everyday, so it worked out.

Life was perfect. Almost.

As the meeting started and Sirius and James were asked about the going ons at the Ministry, Marlene sat quietly during the entire thing. Finally, Dumbledore turned to her.

"Miss McKinnon, I have a very important job for you to do. You are in training in the Auror office, and I need you to do something for me. Something Mr Black and Mr Potter cannot do."

Marlene sat up, knowing what was coming.

"I need you to bring messages between the Order and your father, who can then pass them on to the influential people in the Ministry. It is not safe for your father to be associated with us, and it is also not safe for you to be associated with any of us. So I would please request you to keep your membership secret and move back home with your parents. Mr Black can pass you messages during training and you will bring them home to your father. I also ask you to use your training to protect your father at all costs. We believe he may be a target."

Sirius felt her stiffen beside him, and he squeezed her hand once.

As they left the meeting, she was quiet. Finally, she spoke.

"You were right, Siri."

"About what?"

"My family is a target. They don't care. This is going to be a dangerous mission.I-I could die. My entire family could die."

Sirius nodded, accepting it. In the present day and age, everything was dangerous.

"I'll be with you every step of the way, Marlene." He turned to her, clasping her hands and looking down at her, snow softly falling all around them. "If you're going to die, then I want to die with you."

She smiled up at him, tears sparkling in the corners of her eyes.

"Thanks, Siri."

* * *

_She was screaming, screaming with pain and fear, and he couldn't do anything to stop it, and there was fire and death as she burned in front of him, his cousin Bella laughing in his ears as she danced around him and he couldn't move, couldn't lift a finger to do anything to save Marlene... _

Sirius jolted awake, a cold sweat trickling down his back and his heart pounding in fear. It wasn't real. It was just a dream. It was only a dream...

He rolled over slowly, his eyes taking in the dim form of Marlene lying beside him. She slept peacefully. She was safe. He slowly reached out and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her, hugging her against his body. She mumbled quietly in her sleep and snuggled in close to the new warmth. She was safe. She was safe.

"Siri? Is everything alright?" She was waking up, mumbling against his chest. She slowly sat up a bit, shaking her hair out of her face and looking at him with wide eyes.

"It's fine. I just had a bad dream." She nodded, still looking a bit worried. "D'you want to talk about it?"

He sat quietly for a moment, then spoke softly.

"You were dying. Bellatrix was burning you. And I couldn't do anything to stop it. I-I couldn't-" He stopped, his words choking in his throat.

"I'm here, Sirius. I'm safe. I'm safe with you," she whispered, grasping his hands and pulling his arms around her so he was hugging her. He leaned his head into her shoulder and she stroked his hair lovingly. "I'm never going to leave you. I love you, Sirius. I love you."

He smiled. "I love you, too, Marlene."

Then he sat up, and reached over into the drawer of his bedside table, pulling something out of it, not showing her what it was. She sat looking at him suspiciously, confusion written all over her face.

"I was going to do this later and do something big, but I don't want to wait. Marly, I can't live without you. If I'm going to live, it's going to be with you."

"Sirius..."

"No, I'm not done. I've loved you since the moment I met you, honestly. I don't exactly know when I realized it, but I've loved you forever. So, Marlene McKinnon, will you marry me?" He pulled the object from behind his back, revealing it to be a ring box. Opening it, he revealed a sparkling sapphire ring, one that she had seen his mother putting away in a drawer. She knew it was his grandmothers.

"Sirius..." she gasped. She looked at him with wide eyes.

"Don't look so shocked. I can't stay a bachelor forever, can I?" he winked.

"I... I don't know what to say... I... Yes, yes of course!" She finally laughed, pulling him into a hug. "Of course I'll marry you." She leaned in and kissed him.

They lay curled together after that, staring up at the ceiling and just talking. Marlene couldn't stop staring at the ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit, like it had been made for her.

"Are you going to tell your parents?" She finally asked.

"No. My Dad will be too drunk to care, and the last time I saw my mum she was blasting my name off that dreadful tapestry and telling me she would do the same thing to my face if I ever came back. I don't think she'll care."

"Alright. I know you should come, but my parent's house is still under the Fidelius Charm, and-"

"And you should tell them by yourself. I understand. And hey, if they're angry about you marrying a disowned Black, I won't be there to get beat up by your dad," he grinned.

And for the moment, as she laughed and smacked him playfully, the world was perfect.


End file.
